Our Sky Knight
by Shadow-StrikeRaven
Summary: The Final battle between Dark Ace and Aerrow, through the eyes of the people of Atmosia. Specifically through the eyes of a young girl. Finn had fallen, Piper had fallen and help was too far away... Injured, alone and outnumbered, how could he possibly win? But he would not give up. He was their sky knight. Does not follow canon-timeline. Warning, violence, character death & angst.
1. He Was Their Sky Knight

"Run…"  
The girl shook her head at the sound of the Sky-Knights voice, hands gripping the window sill and trembling.  
Like everyone else around the square, who had been watching the latest battle between Dark Ace and the Storm Hawks' Sky Knight, Aerrow, she had felt her heart go out to him at the cries of pain he had given as he watched two of his squadron fall to the army of Talons. The other sky knight squadrons were too far away, leaving the protection of the entire terra to the young squadron.  
The young squadron who had long earned the respect, love and loyalty of the Atmos as a whole. And now there was nothing they could do as they fell.  
First it had been the blonde sharpshooter, Finn, as he shoved Aerrow out of the way of a blast.  
He hadn't moved since.  
Then Piper. The sheer desperation and agony that had been in the red-heads eyes as his team fell was heart-wrenching. And, like everyone watching, the girl had tears trailing down her cheeks as Aerrow handed Piper and Finn to the wallop, Junko, and telling him to run, whilst there was a lull in the amount of Talons.  
His voice was faint, and filled with a cacophony of emotion. Pain, desperation, determination, fatigue, loss… The young girl's sobs intensified as she heard the next words.  
"I'll be fine… Go Junko. Look after them. Stay Safe… And tell them I'm sorry… I can't leave them…"  
By them, he meant all of them. Everyone on the Terra. And she felt a burst of love for the sky knight, which was coupled with helplessness as the Wallop spoke.  
"Aerrow…"  
The wallop's own voice shook with unshed tears, and the sky knight gave him a small grin, filled with warmth, love and a silent plea.  
"Go Junko… Please…"  
The wallop nodded and turned, carrying the two unconscious forms, leaving Aerrow to take a deep breath and turn to Dark Ace.  
The girls' stomach tied itself in knots, even as tears spilled from her eyes, and she pulled her mother closer, feeling the older woman's own silent sobs as she watched.  
They all watched. Even the men, who could see from their places by windows and doors, had watery eyes, and clenched fists as they watched.  
Then the clash of blades sounded again, this time more ferociously than ever before.

The girl cried, unable to stop as she watched the battle, blurred through her tears.  
Then the battle took a turn.  
Against Aerrow.  
The pained cry echoed across the square as Dark Ace's blade sliced his side, leaving blood to spill as Aerrow was thrown halfway across the square before smashing into a wall.  
The girl gasped at the impact, and her small scream was joined with several others as desperation started to set in.  
He couldn't have survived that- But he had.  
The girl watched, her emotions identical to everyone else's, as Aerrow stirred.  
Pride, pain, sadness, respect, love, hope, a silent plea… They all fought for a place as she watched the sky knight push himself to his feet, blood pooling from his various wounds into his torn, tattered, and bloody uniform and turning it the same colour as his scruffy, matted hair.  
He was clearly in agony, but he stood up, standing firmly on his feet, blades drawn and a look of acceptance and determination on his face.  
That's when she realised it.  
Aerrow didn't believe he would win. He was just holding out until someone would come to finish the job.  
She could feel her mothers' tears escalating, and could hear the quiet crying of everyone else in the room, coupled with her own wet cheeks and silent, chest wracking sobs.  
Then she heard it, and looked up to see several more sky knights arriving on their rides, their eyes and posture radiating fury, yet pained pride as they took in the scene.  
"Aerrow!" That was Starling. So much for not having friends… She cared about him. It was clear in the desperation in her voice.  
He shot her a quick look, with a small pained smile, and they all seemed to take it as a signal and began to run forward.  
They were not fast enough. They focused on the remaining Talons as Aerrow and Dark Ace resumed their battle.  
The young girls eyes were riveted on Aerrow. The flashes of his red hair, the arcs of blue from his blades…the growing streaks of blood on his uniform and the newer gashes that he kept receiving on his arms.  
It was clear to everyone that this battle would not end in a stale mate. This was between the two of them and it would end now.  
No matter what…  
The young girl started to tremble, tears still falling, as she took in the gradual weakening of their sky knight…  
The trembling in his muscles… the slower reactions… the defensive stance…  
Then it happened.

The Dark Ace lunged and Aerrow's cry sent shivers through them all as the blade planted itself in his stomach. Then, with a final spurt of energy, Aerrow brought his own blades up and span away, slashing Dark Ace across the chest.  
The Talon commander fell, the wound clearly having been fatal, but Aerrow stayed on his feet for a few seconds longer.  
Then he span slightly, and looked directly at the young girl, their eyes meeting.  
He smiled, the smile and his eyes full of their usual warmth, even through the pain, and she began to hope that maybe… But no.  
Just as Starling reached him, he collapsed, blades clattering to the floor into a pool of his own blood.  
The other sky knight managed to grab him before he hit the floor and lowered him down, holding him close.  
Starling placed two fingers on his neck, clearly checking for a pulse, before swiftly moving them to his wrist, and the expression on her face as she gave a shaking sob sent tremors through the crowds and sky knights alike.  
The young girl finally let her sobs become audible, and her mother grabbed her closer, as if trying to shield her from what was happening.  
Because Aerrow… Their sky knight… Their own, inspirational, caring, friendly, helpful, loving, respectful, brave, courageous, determined, lively, cheerful, funny, brilliant sky knight…  
The young girl dropped the thought and cried.  
Like many others, she simply cried.

.

.

.

* * *

**Do I continue? Please review and let me know.  
Just a random drabbley thing. I was in the mood for all the angst and… yeah. Just yeah…  
Plus I wanted to do different POV'S, different styles… different ideas… What did you think?**


	2. Hope (Optional Happy Ending)

**So, a couple of different P.O.V's, but mainly reverting back to the young girls… Hey, I may even put her name in… Why not.  
And this chapter is optional. You want a happy ending? Read on…  
If you don't and want all the angst? Well, I'd leave it :D  
**

* * *

****A slight tensing from her mother had the girl blinking away the tears and looking up at her, before following her line of sight to the two sky knights.  
Her heart leapt, hope stirring, as Starling's movements became more controlled.

Starling was about to tear her hand away from Aerrow's wrist when she felt a slight movement. Was that… Could that be…  
She wiped the tears from her eyes with her other hand and used her teeth to tug off her glove, placing her fingers back. Her heart gave a jolt as she felt it again. There was a pulse… Faint, but it was there. She swiftly moved her fingers to his neck, and felt her breath coming in relieved gasps as she felt his pulse even more strongly.  
This time, her tears, which were still falling, were mingled with the relief and she hurriedly called out.  
"He's alive!"

The young girl gave a small gasp as she heard, then tore from her mother's arms and leant out of the window, straining to hear Starling's words.  
"He's alive… But his pulse is weak… erratic… We need to get him to a med-bay. Now!"  
Then, in true Storm Hawk fashion, the sound of the Condor's horn, recognisable to everyone on the terra, sounded as the ship landed in the huge square, with timing that could not have been more perfect if it had been planned.  
Junko leapt from the runway, followed by a small flash of blue fur. Her heart seized again as she caught sight of Radarr's injuries. Arm in a sling, his tail bandaged and one of his ears torn nearly beyond recognition. Then the creatures' small, pained yelps as he reached Aerrow.  
Junko was hot on his tail, and cursed as he caught sight of Aerrow, before talking into his link.  
"Stork? Clear out the med-bay…"  
The reply was indistinguishable, but the wallop seemed to nod, then crouched down next to Starling.  
"Let me…"

Junko gasped and found himself cursing at the sight of his friend, and quickly whipped out his link.  
"Stork? Clear the med-bay…"  
"You got it… Finn's conscious, and so is Piper… They are both up and out, even though I told them not to. Get up here Junko…"  
He nodded, then crouched down next to Starling.  
"Let me…"  
She nodded, blinking away the tears, and Junko carefully lifted Aerrow up before turning and running for the ship, Starling right behind him and Radarr on her shoulders.

The young girl felt tears pooling again as Piper and Finn arrived on the runway, and Piper started crying at the sight of Aerrow, making it necessary for Finn to catch her as she nearly fell, obviously still weak from her injuries.  
Starling took over helping her inside, and Finn had a few words with Junko before taking Radarr and vanishing inside.  
As they all disappeared from sight, the atmosphere in the square seemed to freeze, and the young girl realised that it would stay that way until they heard more...  
_

Three Weeks Later…

Three weeks… Three whole weeks, and all they had heard was that Aerrow was critical but stable.  
And that had been nine days ago.  
Anything could have happened in that time…  
The young girl knew that Piper was a whizz with crystals, and if anyone could heal Aerrow and get the rest of the team back to themselves, it would be her… But she was injured as well. Badly.  
She sighed as she perched on the edge of an old well, too lethargic to be bothered with... well, anything at the moment.  
It was the same for everyone. Life may have returned to its usual course, but it hadn't returned to normal. And she knew that, until the Storm Hawks were in the skies again, it never would.  
At least there had been no attacks.  
Cyclonis had apparently locked herself in with her crystals when she heard about the death of her right hand man, and had not been seen since.

Eventually, she realised she really had better get herself together and get the stuff her mother wanted… And that's when she heard it.  
The sound of rides in the air.  
Spinning, she gasped at the sight of the raptors, circling the square before landing with their blades drawn.  
Repton, their leader, hissed and smirked.  
"Cyclonisss sayssss hi…"  
Then they started attacking. Smashing everything in sight. She stood, frozen, as Repton caught sight of her and advanced.  
He had just reached her when a gloved hand appeared over his shoulder and tapped him.  
Repton span, but before he could register what was happening, a gloved fist had hit him under the chin and he went flying into a wall, sending it crumbling down on top of him.  
She blinked, though the sunlight, until she took in the very familiar shock of red hair. Above a pair of startlingly green eyes that were filled with warmth and mischief.  
"You okay?"  
She nodded, accepting the hand Aerrow offered out to her, and smiled, relief and happiness flooding her at the sight of the sky knight.  
"You're back…"  
"Of course I'm back…" He said with a grin, "And the Storm Hawks are finally back in business."  
With that, he gave her a very elaborate bow, that had them both laughing, before he ran back to join his team, all of whom were bickering as they blasted at the Raptors.  
She grinned, as she caught sight of snatches of their conversations.  
"Well, Finn," Piper said, "I'm just saying that maybe you shouldn't have played your damned air guitar-"  
"No need for you to break the records…" The blonde said, sulking slightly as he blasted at one of the raptors, knocking him to the floor, "That was my only spare copy of The Razor Larks…"  
Junko groaned as he punched three of the anonymous raptors, sending them flying, before rounding on Finn.  
"That was only your_ spare_ copy?"

Hope found herself laughing, to which Finn gave her his signature Chickacha move, before rounding and firing two more bolts, and she sank back onto the well, watching as the team downed raptor after raptor, and as Aerrow irritated Repton by playing as miniature game of catch the sky knight, constantly insulting him, and she smiled for the first time in weeks.  
They had their squadron back. They had their sky knight back.  
No matter what the sky council said about Atmosia not having an official squadron, the rest of the Atmos knew.  
Aerrow was their sky knight. The Storm Hawks were their squadron.  
And not a single one of them would have it any other way.

* * *

**So, yeah. That's it for the angsty drabble… Which, much to my friends amusement, shown with her signature eye roll, turned happy and what-not, just like she predicted.  
Not the best chapter I have ever written, and sure, the girls name being hope was a bit cliche, as was the ending, but I just couldn't help it...  
**

**Any ideas for more short fics? Whether angsty, funny, crackish, friendship...y or whatever else, just let me know :D**

**Thanks to all readers and reviewers!  
**


End file.
